Ohio Valley Conference

CHARLESTON, Ill. -  Morehead State got career highs from Hollan Everett, Sydney Sennett, and Courtney Fitzgerald and a season high from M.E. Hargan as the Eagles prevailed in four sets (25-21, 27 25, 25-22, 25-21) in the semi-finals of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament in Charleston, Illinois, Monday.
 
Morehead State (2-8, 15-3 OVC) was led by M.E. Hargan with 24 kills, setting a new season high and posted a .246 hitting percentage. Everett slammed 22 kills, setting a new career high while hitting .294. Amelia Nott ended with 10 kills, hitting .318.
 
Junior Eagle setter Sydney Sennett set a new career high with 53 assists running the MSU offense that hit a season-high 69 kills and posted a .231 attack efficiency. Junior libero Fitzgerald set new career highs with 28 digs and eight assists. Everett also posted a new career high with seven digs. Senior Sarah Heath tied her career-high with five block assists.
 
Southern Indiana (19-13, 14-4 OVC) was paced by Ashby Willis with 16 kills and Leah Coleman with 15. Carly Wright added 10 kills and five blocks for the third-seeded Screaming Eagles. USI posted a .185 hitting percentage for the match.
  
Morehead State ran off five straight points to grab an 11-3 lead in the first set, as the Eagle offense ran efficiently in the early stages of the set led by Everett with four early kills. Southern Indiana responded with a 5-0 run to cut the Eagle lead to 18-15. The Screaming Eagles got to within as close to two points twice, but MSU closed out the set with their third block of the set. Everett led Morehead State in the opening frame with six kills hitting .455. The Eagles hit .282 in the opening frame.
 
Southern Indiana broke out the block party in the second set with eight total blocks in the frame and held Morehead State to just a .143 hitting percentage. After multiple ties early, Southern Indiana ran off four straight points to gain some separation at 10-6. Another 4-0 run by USI stretched the lead to 14-9.
 
MSU responded with a four-point run of their own highlighted by Nott's third ace of the match and pulled to within one at 15-14. Another 3-0 run put the Eagles ahead 18-17. The teams traded points into the 20's. Southern Indiana held off two set points and ran off three straight to tie the match at a set apiece.
 
USI maintained an early lead to open the third set. MSU got a 5-1 run to take their first lead of the frame at 8-7. A 5-2 run gave the Eagles a 15-11 lead at the technical timeout. A 3-0 MSU run gave Morehead State their largest lead at 18-13. USI responded with a five-point run to tie the score at 18-18.
 
After the teams traded points, two straight kills by Hargan put the Eagles ahead 23-21. After a USI point, Hargan's 18th kill of the match gave MSU a set point. Everett clinched the set with her 15th kill of the match to put the Eagles ahead two sets to one.
 
Southern Indiana ran off five straight points to kick off the fourth set. The Eagles answered with five straight of their own to even the score at 6-6. USI ran off another five points to move ahead 11-7, as neither attack could post a hitting percentage over .200.
 
MSU got back in front with a 6-0 run highlighted by two kills from Everett and an ace from Logan Smith at 14-12. USI responded with a 4-2 run to retake the lead 16-15. MSU ran off an 8-1 run to take a 23-19 lead. Morehead State closed it out with kills by Everett and Nott. MSU hit .255 in the final frame.

#1 EASTERN ILLINOIS 3,  #4 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Panthers volleyball team will advance to the OVC championship match tomorrow, November 25th, at 6:00 PM against Morehead State. EIU moved past SEMO in four sets in a match where the Panthers set a new four-set match blocks record at 19.  

The semifinal match was a game of runs between both teams taking turns scoring multiple points in a row. SEMO began the set with a 4-0 scoring, followed by an EIU response, scoring four straight, including back-to-back service aces by Tori Mohesky. The Panthers headed into the media timeout with a 15-13 lead after a kill by Emma Schroeder, who had a .733 hitting percentage for the match. After the break, EIU exploded out of the gate, scoring three in a row off two straight kills by Katie Kopshever. The Panthers defense held strong, anchored by Schroeder and Ariadna Pereles to close out set one 25-21.  

Both teams battled closely to start the new set, with SEMO holding their largest lead of the match, 10-4. Like set one, EIU responded to adversity, ripping off 5 in a row led by Destiny Walker. The theme of the match continued as SEMO tallied four straight to hold a 14-11 advantage. The Panthers came roaring back with a 5-0 run using two Lilli Amettis kills and two SEMO attack errors. The scoring runs continued between both teams, with SEMO leading 21-18 heading into the final stretch. The Panthers threatened to rally from behind, forcing a SEMO timeout. However, the Redhawks stood strong; winning set two 25-23.  

The pivotal set three began with the Redhawks stunning the Panther nation to take a quick 7-3 lead. EIU battled back to tie the match at 13. SEMO led 15-14 as both teams stepped away for the media timeout. SEMO continued to lead until the Panthers ignited a mini scoring run using two Walker attacks. SEMO was forced to call a timeout, trailing 20-19. After the break, SEMO responded with two points, which resulted in an EIU timeout. With the crowd on their feet, Destiny Walker used a monstrous block to reach set one. The Panthers used their defense once again with a block by Amettis and Schroeder to close out set three.  

With the chance to move on to the OVC championship match, Eastern Illinois and SEMO battled tightly to start with, EIU having a small 10-7 advantage. The Panthers continued to stay afloat using their high-powered offense led by Walker and Mohesky. Eastern Illinois took control of the momentum heading into the media timeout after an attack error with Katy St. John. The Panthers stood pat, keeping the Redhawks an arm length away, but the Redhawks caused an EIU timeout. The Panthers responded, led by Waker and Mohesky once again, to remain out in front. After a SEMO timeout, the Panthers recovered from a service ace by scoring two kills by Kopshever and Amettis to win the match.  

EIU set a record of 19 blocks in a four-set match. The previous record was 18, which was set against Murray State in 2012. Destiny Walker led the way offensively with 20 kills and 10 digs. Lilli Amettis was Walker's partner in crime with 17 kills. Emma Schroeder had a season-high night with 11 kills, 5 blocks, and a .733 hitting percentage. Arianda Pereles and Anaya Rawlinson anchored the defense, with Pereles recording 12 digs and Rawlinson producing 4.5 blocks..